Hang ups from your childhood

My parents came to this country as immigrants about 25 years ago. I remember for about the first ten years of my life, we lived in poverty as my parets struggled to raise me and my two sisters with barely an income. Early on as a kid, I developed the feeling to sympathize with my parents and I remember rarely asking them to buy me toys or fancy shoes like all the other kids (even though i really wanted all those things) because if they did, I felt really bad.

Fast forward to now, I'm 22 and my parents are doing very well. I have my own job and make and spend my own money but I still feel REALLY bad and guilty whenever I buy things for myself, like a fancy new razor or guitar. I feel like if I had millions I'd still feel that way when it comes to spending. Some say this is good as it's a way to control spending money, but as you can imagine, it makes it difficult to enjoy things. What do you guys think? Do any of you have hang ups from your childhood that still effect you today?

My father and his brothers were born before the Great Depression . Father in '05. What I've noticed is that the whole family had a kind of hoarding mentality. It was not really keeping things for the sake of just keeping it, but more looking forward to seeing what it might be Reused as.

Yea, both my parents went through the depression and WWII, one in Canada and one in Germany. As a result both were of the saver mind set. That meant you never went into debt except for a house to live in and maybe a car. Everything else was cash or you did not buy it. You also never depleted your bank account past a certain point to preserve a cushion in case the bad times ever came back. As a result that generation created the largest transfer of wealth to the next generation that we have ever seen. A lot of the next generation has squandered that not inheriting their parents traits. A little of my parents traits did rub off on me and I lived within my means mostly retiring early and with virtually no debt. I would not call it a hang up as it has served me well.

The bad times are back and the current younger generations have never been through tough times before. As a result a lot of families are sneeze away from financial ruin carrying far too high a debt load. Anyway not all inherited hang ups are bad.

Bob

I agree with you Bob, not all are bad. Makes you think how you would be different had you not grown up with that perspective.

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Originally Posted by BobH

The bad times are back and the current younger generations have never been through tough times before. As a result a lot of families are sneeze away from financial ruin carrying far too high a debt load. Anyway not all inherited hang ups are bad.

Bob

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I saw it like this beginning in '73 caused by the Arab oil embargo, among other things. It didn't begin to get better until maybe '78. That was when the USA still had some semblance of an economy based on manufacturing ...... not consumer spending. Save your money and when you're old you'll be glad you did.

When I was 4 or 5, I was in a local grocery store with my mom. I saw one of those 3 for a quarter candy displays and took one, not realizing I had to pay for it. We get out to the car and my mom sees what I have and pulls me back inside to return it. She made me apologize to the cashier and told me she would not raise a thief.

To this day, I hold thievery as one of the lowest crimes and probably always will. Some people tell me there is justified theft, such as food. I will probably always see theft as a low and unnecessary crime.